


Breathless Creatures

by carolinecrane



Category: Sky High (2005)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-03
Updated: 2010-10-03
Packaged: 2017-10-12 09:57:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/123636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinecrane/pseuds/carolinecrane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being a superhero isn't always all it's cracked up to be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Breathless Creatures

There were days when he wondered why he bothered. Yeah, it was the family business, and his parents had always made it seem so glamorous and exciting. And it was, sometimes. When he put on the costume everyone knew who he was, the whole world loved him and he could do no wrong.

Except.

Except that even he couldn't save everyone. He couldn't stop natural disasters or catch every criminal, couldn't stop disease or injustice. All he could really do was keep the supervillains in line, and some days that didn't really seem like much.

On days like that, when people were dying at the hands of nature and all he could do was try to save as many as he could reach, he wasn't sure what the point of being a superhero was. It just didn't feel like enough, no matter how hard he tried.

Still, he spent hours digging through the rubble of the latest earthquake, plucking people from buildings and flying them to safety. He worked way into the night, long after all the normal rescue workers were exhausted and going home to try to get some sleep, and still it felt like quitting to take even a few minutes to catch his breath.

Which was how he ended up on the roof of one of the only undamaged buildings downtown, scanning the wreckage of the city in front of him in the hope that he'd spot just one more survivor in need of rescue. And even that was frustrating, because he had super strength and the ability to fly, but he didn't have x-ray vision.

"Hey."

The soft voice should have startled him, but they'd been through this before and Will didn't have to turn to see Warren walking across the roof toward him.

"How'd you find me?"

"It's not that hard," Warren answered, smirk clear in his voice and Will smiled in spite of his mood. "That damn cape practically glows in the dark."

Will had gotten over feeling self-conscious about his costume a long time ago, but that didn't stop Warren from teasing him about it every chance he got. Which was easy for him, because his superpower was fire and that meant he got a cool costume, all black with red and orange flames hand-stitched on. But Will was part of the Stronghold legacy, and that meant wearing the family colors. Most of the time he didn't really mind, but tonight he kind of wished his costume was more like Warren's. At least it would have suited his mood.

"I don't know why you always have to choose the tallest building in town to do your brooding," Warren grumbled as he settled on the ledge next to Will. For a second he wobbled a little, but Will reached out a hand to steady him. "Not all of us can fly, you know."

Will thought about pointing out that maybe avoiding Warren was the whole point, but he didn't like to lie.

"I forget sometimes," he said instead. "Back in high school it seemed like you could do anything."

And that was the truth; when they'd first met Warren had seemed dark and dangerous and capable of…anything, especially something as simple as flying. But this whole superhero thing had taught him that they all had their limitations, and no matter how hard he wished it, there was nothing he could do to change that.

He wasn't sure how long they sat like that, shoulder to shoulder and staring out over the city. And yeah, he had super strength, but if he leaned a little more heavily against Warren's shoulder than usual, Warren didn't seem to mind. He was still looking for more survivors, but the streets below were mostly still and in the gathering darkness it was almost easy to believe that it had been a normal day.

"Come on, Flyboy," Warren said after awhile, jostling his shoulder, "I'll let you give me a ride home."

Will knew what Warren was doing; he didn't really like being flown around like, as he always put it, 'some damsel in distress', but he also knew it was the quickest way to get them both home. Which meant it would be that much sooner when Warren went to work distracting Will.

"There might still be people down there," Will said anyway, because they were superheroes, after all, and it was their responsibility.

"You've done everything you can do. We all have." Warren held out a hand and Will took it, letting himself be pulled to his feet. He let Warren slide an arm around his waist, under his cape and up his back. Let Warren lean in for a kiss, soft at first and then more demanding. Someone moaned and he dimly recognized the sound of his own voice, hands already tugging at Warren's costume and if they kept this up they wouldn't make it home.

"Let's go home," Warren whispered close to his ear, and Will nodded breathlessly and let Warren wrap even tighter around him before he pushed off from the ground and headed home as fast as the wind would carry them.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Breathless Creatures](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8153056) by [RsCreighton](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RsCreighton/pseuds/RsCreighton)




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